St. Mary's to mark 100th anniversary with special Mass

MIDDLETOWN -- Parishioners Sunday will celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first church established for the city's Polish settlers.

AMY L. ZITKA

Published
12:00 am EDT, Saturday, September 6, 2003

St. Mary of Czestochowa Church will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a special jubilee Mass at 3 p.m. in the South Main Street Church. The Mass officially closes the annual Forty Hour Eucharistic devotion, and will be followed by a sell-out banquet at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Cromwell at 5:30 p.m.

Parishioners began celebrating the jubilee last November with activities including a pilgrimage to the "American" Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pa. Other festivities are being planned for the coming months, church publicity spokeswoman Antoinette Strycharz said.

The principal celebrants for the Mass will be Bishop Michael Cote and Bishop Emeritus Daniel Hart of the Archdiocese of Norwich, she said. Many other priests will be in attendance as concelebrants for the Mass. A papal proclamation from the Vatican will be presented at the Mass.

Parishioners volunteered their time to make the jubilee celebration a success and a tribute to the church's late pastor, the Rev. Aloysius Kisluk, who was the "most ardent supporter," Strycharz said. Kisluk died in March.

Kisluk was appointed pastor in April 1988 and served until his death. He also served as an assistant pastor for the parish from 1964 to 1971.

A mayoral proclamation, which was read at Tuesday's Common Council meeting, will be presented Sunday marking the day Saint Mary of Czestochowa Day.

"Saint Mary of Czestochowa Church has become a beacon of spirituality for all the people of Middletown by the diversity of her parishioners, while sustaining religious leadership for Middletown's Polish American community," the proclamation read.

The church has had 10 pastors during its 100 years, and it has lost several pastors to death during their pastorate, Strycharz said.

"As a spiritual center, the church gives meaning and direction to the faith of all those in the parish; it provides comfort and support in time of need and has continued to work with civic and charitable organizations to assure the well being and vitality of the entire city, in the past and the present," Mayor Domenique Thornton wrote in her proclamation.

Saint Mary parishioners had their ups and downs throughout the century.

After the first Polish settlers moved to Middletown in 1895, St. Kazimierz Society members sought to found a parish in 1902. A year later, the bishop authorized its formation.

In 1905, the construction of the church began. Three years later, they sought permission to build a new church, because the current one was too small. In 1911, the new church was completed, and the old one became the school.

Renovations on the second church began in 1979, but then, on Aug. 22, 1980, the church was destroyed by fire.

"An arsonist set fire to the completely renovated church," Strycharz said. "Everything was lost except for a little statue of the Blessed Mother that was in the alcove."

A bell from the original church was charred, but saved. It currently is on the church's sidewall. The statue is in the church's plaza shrine, Strycharz said.

For three years, church services were held in the school until the newest and current church was built.

"The whole community was very good to us," Strycharz said. "They donated money to help us rebuild."